These nutritious Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins have whole grains, less added sugar, and the BEST flavor. They’re a great breakfast or snack option…or just as a way to use up overripe bananas!
These banana muffins have been a family favorite for years. They are easy to make since the batter simply mixes together in a bowl and they get their sweetness primarily from ripe bananas.
There’s a bit of added sweetener in the mix to help even things out and just enough dark chocolate to make these feel like a treat.
The Healthy Banana Muffins have beneficial fats, potassium, protein, and even some fiber. But mostly…they just taste really good!
I love the hint of peanut butter in these and that they’re a really satisfying muffin for kids, either on their own or topped with more peanut butter, cream cheese, or butter.
Why This Recipe Works
With whole grains for nutrition and ripe bananas for sweetness, plus a hit of dark chocolate for extra yum, these muffins are a perfect combination of delicious and nutritious.
(You may also like my Sugar-Free Banana Muffins, Banana Yogurt Muffins, and my Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make these Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, you’ll need the following ingredients on hand.
- Flour: You can use whole wheat flour or buckwheat. Buckwheat flour is a great gluten-free alternative that’s incredibly nutritious.
- Cinnamon: This adds a pleasant flavor to the muffin batter.
- Ground flaxseed: This is optional, but is an easy way to add in more healthy fats and fiber.
- Ripe bananas: These are key to the classic banana flavor, so do be sure to use very ripe bananas with a lot of brown spots.
- Baking powder and baking soda: These work together to help the muffins rise and cook through.
- Vanilla extract: A little vanilla enhances the flavor of the banana muffins.
- Milk: I bake with whole milk, but you can really use any type. Nondairy milk works too.
- Peanut butter: You can use creamy unsweetened peanut butter here, or trade in regular melted butter for a nut-free version.
- Eggs: I bake with large eggs and in this recipe, they help create structure and moistness.
- Chocolate chips: We usually top our muffins with a few chocolate chips, though you can also stir them right into the batter.
Featured Review⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“These deserve 6 stars! They are the best banana muffins and a healthier choice too. They are very moist.” —Michelle
Step-by-Step Directions
Here’s a preview of how to make these Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of this post for the full information, including the amounts and the timing.
Step 1. Peel the banana and mash until very smooth.
Step 2. Add the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and stir to evenly distribute.
Step 3. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl. Stir together gently. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Step 4. Add to a muffin tin, dividing the batter among greased cups, and bake.
TIP: This recipe is for standard size muffins, but you can make them as mini muffins if you reduce the baking time.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll want to make sure that your bananas are very ripe with brown spots to ensure the best banana flavor and natural sweetness—which also enables us to use less added sugar in these. So they should look very brown!
Simply let them cool and store in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Warm from frozen in the microwave in 15 second increments or thaw at room temp or in the fridge.
I know that it can be hard to bake gluten-free baked goods that the entire family will want to eat, but these definitely fit the bill. They’re moist and sweet, and are so good when served alongside coffee or milk. Buckwheat flour, which is naturally gluten-free and also very nutritious with ample fiber and protein, works really well here. It has a mild flavor too and is widely available in the flour or natural foods section of most grocery stores.
How to Store
Store the cooled Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze fully cooled muffins store in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Warm from frozen in the microwave in 15 second increments or thaw at room temp or in the fridge.
Best Tips for Success
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor.
- To make these gluten-free, use buckwheat flour.
- To make these dairy-free, use nondairy milk.
- You can leave out the chocolate chips if desired.
- If you have more bananas to use, try my Banana Smoothie with Milk, Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, and Banana Cupcakes.
Related Recipes
I’d love to know your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment below to share!
Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup very ripe mashed banana (about 2 medium)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk (dairy or plain unsweetened nondairy milk)
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter (or regular butter, melted and cooled)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (or buckwheat flour)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips (roughly chopped or use mini chips)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a standard muffin tin. Set aside.
- Mash the banana very smooth with a potato masher or fork.
- Add the flour, sugar, flaxseed (if using), cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl. Stir together.
- Add the banana, eggs, milk, peanut butter, and vanilla and stir well.
- Add the chocolate chips.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, using about ¼ cup batter for each. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly and the edges are golden brown.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then run a paring knife around the edges to help remove the muffins. Cool on a wire rack.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor.
- Gluten-free: Use buckwheat flour.
- Dairy-free: Use nondairy milk.
- Find my Vegan Banana Muffins or my Sugar-Free Banana Muffins here egg-free banana muffins.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze fully cooled muffins store in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Warm from frozen in the microwave in 15 second increments or thaw at room temp or in the fridge.
- Serve cold or slightly warmed.
- Dice for younger kids if desired.
- You can leave out the chocolate chips if desired.
Nutrition
This post was first published February 2018.
Has anyone tried these with almond flour??
I haven’t but they may work since they have other binders including banana and flaxseed. I would expect the texture and density to be different though. Let me know if you try it!
Ok, thank you!
We really enjoy this recipe! My son has a very mild egg allergy and most times we replace the eggs with flax eggs. I recently purchased Bob’s egg powder replacer and it worked like a charm with these. I would suggest trying it for most parents looking for a egg replacer that works more like a traditional egg (for baked goods, of course).
Thanks so much for sharing that info!
How would you bake this recipe as a loaf? Would that work?
I haven’t done it so I can’t say for sure. I think you could do it in an 8×8 inch pan for maybe 30-36 minutes or a regular loaf pan and the baking pan might be closer to an hour. You’d need to use a cake tester or a toothpick in the center to test for doneness for either. It should come out clean.
Can I use Almond butter instead of pPB??
Yes that should be fine!
Hi Amy,
I’ve made almost every muffin recipe you have (all delicious), but this one was my sons favorite. He loves all your muffin recipes but I’ve never seen him devour a muffin so quick than when I gave him this one. I copied the recipe exactly and it came out SO good. I’m one happy mama. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that Tammy!
The first time I made the recipe, my family gave feedback to try it without the cinnamon. I made it a second time, without the cinnamon, and the kids loved it.
Glad to hear that!
Is flaxseed necessary?
You can leave it out
This looks delicious.
Can I make it without the egg white? My daughter is allergic to egg white and I am looking up recipes for new foods for her!
I haven’t tried these without the egg white so I can’t say for sure, but you’d want to make up the volume lost by omitting the egg white with either milk or additional yolk.
Hi Amy,
These muffins are so delicious, full of flavor, very moist and rich in banana and chocolate.
Assembly instructions are very straightforward so much so that my 2.5 year old thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of measuring, dumping, stirring and even ladling the mixture (very closely supervised and assisted etc) .
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
I did substitute 1:1 ratio of regular flour as I don’t have buckwheat on hand and added a few extra chocolate chips, mostly that was my helper’s idea. These baked up nicely in a mini muffin pan for 10-12 minutes.
We’ll be trying more of your recipes soon!
I’m so glad to hear this!
Hi Amy, thanks so much for sharing this. I only had 1 banana so I halved the recipe and baked them in mini muffin tins in a convection oven at 350 degrees. for 13 min They made 24 nice moist little snacks for my 2yr old. I have a sweet tooth so would probably add a touch more sugar or honey if I was making them just for me.
I’m glad that they turned out well for your toddler!
Can I replace the flax seed meal with chia seeds?
If you wanted to try that, I’d do just 1 tablespoon!
Hello… I just made these tonight and they smell delicious! Can’t wait for my 13 month old son to try one tomorrow! Can these be kept in the freezer like your blueberry banana muffins (which my son loves by the way)?
They can absolutely be frozen. Store in a zip top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible and defrost in 10 second increments in the microwave or leave at room temperature to thaw. I hope he enjoys them!
I made these this weekend for my family! I love how easy they are to make and my 9 month old enjoyed them too 🙂 I couldn’t find buckwheat but substituted for whole wheat flour and it turned out great.
I’m so happy to hear this, and I’m glad the whole wheat flour worked well!
Can soy milk be substituted?
Yes, that should work fine. Just use plain if you can.
I was wondering if i didn’t have buckwheat flour, I know it’s not as healthy, but could I substitute for regular flour? Thanks!